Chip Off The Old Blog

Hands up if you’ve ever started writing a blog then failed to keep it updated? And have you ever subscribed to a blog then forgotten to read the posts? Yes? Me too. You’re not alone.

I just looked up the dictionary definition of the word blog. Here it is: a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal style.

Hmmm, you got me at ‘regularly updated’.

In fact I’ve not written a blog post since February 2021. That’s almost two years! And the post before that was published in September 2020. Wow. That’s some record.

The lingering question is: why not? I write around 1,000 words every day for my novels. I write around 8,000 words a month for my freelance podcast job. I write hundreds of words every day on social media and Whatsapp. So why does the mere mention of a blog post or newsletter fill me with such dread and apathy? Let’s take a look at my motivations.

I write books because I’ve got stories and characters in my head that I feel compelled to empty onto pages. I’ve also got a contract and payments and obligations that mean, like it or not, I’m writing that book. Same deal applies for my podcast job. I absolutely love it but at the end of the day somebody will give me a virtual poke in the eye if I don’t submit the script when it’s needed.

As for social media, I’m in a constant battle with myself to spend less time on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter. It’s no great secret that we’d all get much more done (including blog posts) if we didn’t find ourselves hunched over shiny screens making the most of our opposable thumbs as we snap photos and tap-tap-tap messages we secretly hope will make people like us just a little bit more.

But why do people write blogs?

If I’m totally honest, I decided to include a blog section on my website because my web designer told me it was a good idea  - and since she knows about These Things, I agreed. The idea is that blog pieces bring people to my website. And if people come to my website they’ll sign up for my newsletter. And if people sign up for my newsletter they’ll receive regular reminders that I exist and that at some point in the past, they’ve enjoyed my books. That in turn means that when I’ve got a new book, they’ll buy that too and before I know it I’ll be a Sunday Times Bestseller. Easy, right?

The key part of this is, of course, writing the damn blog posts - minimum five hundred words and preferably with key words so they show up more easily on searches. One a month ideally. With photos that catch people’s eyes. And not only that but they need to be interesting, engaging, informative, engaging, humorous…oh dear. I need to sit down.

At least now I know why I’m writing a blog, or pretending to.

But the next question is this – who’s reading it? Does anybody anywhere actually read blogs anymore? More and more it seems like social media is dominated by videos and images rather than words.

The first time I ever heard the word blog was about twenty years ago when I was visiting a friend in Edinburgh. I’d just moved to Barcelona and got my first tour guiding job. My friend worked in marketing. She told me the ‘new big thing’ was blogs and suggested I could start one to talk about all my travels. I couldn’t get my head around the concept, so didn’t bother. No great change there, then. But tell me, am I twenty years too late in starting one?

I confess I love the idea of writing a blog. I’ve almost always kept a diary and I love to look back and see the ways my thoughts and views have changed over the years. I suppose a blog is like a diary hung out for public viewing – but also, in theory, it’s a way to engage with others who share the same views. And those who oppose them. Perhaps my blog can be a conversation starter and a way for me to express parts of myself that I don’t show in my books.

Maybe.

My conclusion is this: if I’m going to carve out a few hours every month to write a new blog post I need to do it not for fame and fortune and followers but for myself.

To blog or not to blog…?

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